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Everybody in Krakow appears to be
raring to celebrate the arrival of New Year so wildly as
possibly he or she can and dare. People often select their
favorite venues a couple of months in advance and rush to book
trendy nightspots at the earliest opportunity. And on New Year’s
Eve huge crowds swarm immense Rynek Glowny, the picturesque
central square of
Krakow, with adjoining streets, although once famed open-air New Year's parties with live gigs and fireworks displays are no longer organized here.
At the same time house parties,
usually in a narrow circle, remain popular with the locals,
especially the older folks. And quite a few opt for welcoming
New Year in one of mountain resorts south of Krakow, such as
Zakopane,
notably whenever January 1st happens close enough to Sunday to
produce another nice long weekend Poles are so fond of.
New Year's Eve in Krakow.
With hundreds of nightspots to
choose from, nightlife in Krakow is famously energetic. Every
night club in the city plans the New Year’s Eve’s party on its
premises and most start selling tickets early in November. Small
as usually they are and the regulars snapping up the lion's
share of tickets, some places are fully booked before December.
Typically the ticket covers entry and a few drinks, and maybe a
light meal as well in addition to recorded music and/or DJs
spinning his variety of club music while music clubs feature
live acts. Prices start at around 100 zloty (PLN).
Also many
restaurants in Krakow -
notably in the downtown historic districts of the Old Town and Kazimierz - as well as pubs
and the like organize reservations only nights on the New Year’s
Eve offering a couple of meals, drinks, and usually an
improvised dance floor plus some live entertainment. A
multi-course New Year Eve's dinner, wines included, in a good
Krakow restaurant costs about 500 zlotys (PLN) or more.
Be it a club, a pub, or a restaurant
the New Year’s Eve’s merrymaking lasts through the small hours
of January 15 with the obligatory flute of bubbles at midnight.
Krakow hotels
often offer a New Year city break, complete with a party on
their premises.
New Year’s Eve and particularly its
night party is called sylwester in Polish as December 31st is
the name day of Sylwesters.
Krakow
on New Year’s day.
January 1st is a day of rest and
recovering from the effects of the prior night activities. New
Year’s day is a public holiday in Poland so expect almost
everything closed save
Krakow eateries
and gas stations. Also
public transport
in Krakow adopts holiday timetables. Nonetheless
entertainment in
Krakow doesn’t stop with at least a couple of music concerts
available.
At the same time January 1st is the
Catholic feast day and many citizens of Krakow manage to attend
High Mass.
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